All wisdom begins in wonder, and this delight kindles a desire for truth that leads us on a quest for the really real -- the source of being itself. Hence, the philosophical impulse, albeit often manifested in atheistic and irreverent stumblings in the dark of human ignorance, begins and ultimately ends in theology -- communicating and communing with our origin and goal. We men are rational animals who seek to know. We are agents of truth who want correct answers to questions that we must ask. From the noblest objects of contemplation to the seemingly insignificant everyday trivialities of life, we attempt to unravel perplexing knots. Limited, blind, and distracted, we nevertheless struggle for wisdom. This is our lot, and it is also our glory.

Friday, November 11, A.D. 2016

Already Disappointed by Trump

This week has been interesting. I have supported Trump as president since the very beginning. To quote Ann Coulter, he had me at “Mexican rapist.” Of course, Trump is far from ideal, but what can we expect in a democratic regime? Nonetheless, the widespread reaction from many of my fellow citizens to the future Trump administration has given me pause.

Since Wednesday morning, I have been reading editorials claiming that the new Trumpenreich will involve American Cossacks (rednecks, I suppose) knocking on the doors of “globalists” in the middle of the night and whisking them off to internment camps in Idaho, rounding up and frog marching (or shall we say, “Pepe skipping”) illegal aliens to the Rio Grande, thenceforth banishing them from the land of the free and the home of the brave, and handing over every public institution of advanced learning to the local chapter of the John Birch Society to clean out the tenured progressives (pinkos) and to reform the curriculum to celebrate the oppressive white patriarchy (Western Civ.). Some immigrants of color worry about the closing of mosques or at least their infiltration by federal counter-terrorism intelligence. Hollywood celebrities opine that Trump’s immigration policies might be covertly designed to Make America White Again. Obese womyn in leather with facial and skin mutilations and unnaturally colored cropped hair croak about how Trump will roll back feminist gains and reinstate a 1950s Donna Reed nightmare—unadulterated image of rape culture and misogyny that she was.

Reflecting upon their concerns and anticipations, and then rationally considering the openly stated goals and highly probable actions of Trump’s administration, I find myself feeling dispirited about the huge disconnect. Yet, we must not allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good. So, I wish Trump all the best. Even if he cannot be the American Pinochet, or even the Yankee Salazar, he may begin the project of destroying Americans’ leftist shackles. Godspeed, Mr. Trump.

Should anyone else feel the blues coming on for similar reasons, it might be therapeutic to fantasize about DJT’s handling of the media as depicted in “A Canard of a Crusade.”